


sometimes he's even pleasant

by Mossy_Bench



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, ポケモンマスターズ | Pokemon Masters
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Holidays, Pokemon Eggs, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mossy_Bench/pseuds/Mossy_Bench
Summary: Bettie has a conversation with her friends. Lear gets a second chance.
Relationships: Lyer | Lear/Yui | Bettie
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	sometimes he's even pleasant

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fluffybun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffybun/gifts).



Bettie still didn’t completely understand how Pasio worked, even after all this time, but at least its cycle of seasons made sense, glaciers and lava notwithstanding. Winter was just around the corner, and the day of the Battle Buffet Bash was bright and clear, if a little chilly. Bettie dug into her steaming curry. The happy chatter of people gathered to eat together filled her ears, and pikachu was a warm weight in her lap. Its belly was full and its ears twitched occasionally as it napped.

“Is Pasio always this fun?” Gloria asked. “I love this combination of battling and feasting! I thought I'd only get to experience something like this if I traveled all the way to Alola."

Bettie looked up, mouth full, and hurriedly swallowed before responding. “There’s always something interesting going on! Earlier this summer, there was even a Sync Pair Music Festival."

“Oh, wow!” Gloria said, eyes shining. “Who organizes all this?”

It took a moment for Bettie to process the question; it was not one she’d much considered. “Well, Lear is the one who’s in charge.” At Gloria’s blank expression: “So you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him, I guess.”

“No, but I’ve...heard things.” Gloria made a face. “I don’t get how someone so apparently self-centered is able to create such appealing events.”

“Yeah, he’s not very well-liked,” Bettie said. “Sometimes he keeps his distance from events, but this summer?” That enormous stone statue of Lear flashed into Bettie’s mind, and she suppressed a laugh. It really had captured him well, everything from his glistening silver hair to his lithe legs.

She had just finished telling Gloria about Lisia gifting the statue to Steven (much to Wallace's later dismay) when she heard calm footsteps. “Mind if I join you all?” Cheren asked.

“Of course not!” Bettie said, scooting over at the picnic table to give him some room.

Cheren slid into his spot next to Bettie and tossed his red tie over his shoulder. “So what were you laughing about?” he asked, before starting to devour his Octillery-ink spaghetti.

“Just about Lear being Lear,” Bettie said. “I mean, we should probably cut him some slack. I think he does try, sometimes, in his own way. But then he acts horribly again and I don't know what to think.”

“He's actually a pretty okay kid.” Cheren wiped his mouth with his napkin casually while Bettie stared at him.

Gloria jumped in. “Why do you think that, Cheren? Everyone else I’ve met has said to avoid Lear as much as possible.”

Cheren rubbed his chin. “I think he’s getting better, overall. Sometimes he's even pleasant to talk to. He just needs to learn from the people around him. Having friends who stuck by me is what helped me open my mind. I used to be a lot like him, believe it or not.”

"Really, you? No way," Gloria said.

Bettie scratched Pikachu’s head as she considered Cheren’s words. “I understand what you're saying,” she said at last.

* * *

It was so early that Trinnia, Tricia, and Trista hadn’t even arrived to the Pokemon Center yet. Lear was alone, staring at a twinkling wreath some of the staff had hung up last night. It was decidedly crooked. Lear reached out to straighten it.

The silvery wreath winked at him, and Lear sighed, his mood as dark as the early-morning sky. He almost never spent time in the Pokemon Center, except when he needed to deliver announcements. Seeing everyone smiling and talking always made him feel like the odd one out, which he resented, it being _his_ island and all. It would only get worse during the holiday festivities. Still, he took pride in Pasio being a beautiful, one-of-a-kind place. The Pokemon Center ought to match that.

He heard the doors open and stiffened, whirling around. It was Bettie, cheeks pink from the cold. She looked just as surprised as he felt. Her expression soon turned into one of wonder.

“Oh, wow!” Bettie said. She turned in a slow circle. “You decorated?”

“Last night. What are you doing here?” Lear demanded. He was so used to her being surrounded by friends, it was strange to see her on her own. She didn’t even have Pikachu.

Bettie rubbed her eyes. “Isn’t it still night? Anyway, I shouldn’t be up, but I just came to check on my incubator box. An egg should be hatching in...” she checked her Poryphone. “About 5 minutes!”

“I see,” Lear said, instantly filled with fear at the prospect of trying to make small talk with his greatest rival. “I’ll take my leave, then.”

"No!" Bettie said. Her voice was surprisingly forceful. "I mean...you don't need to feel that way. I was glad to run into you, actually.

"You were?" Lear said. He stared at her suspiciously. What could she possibly want? It felt like the start of a prank when she began to approach him.

Bettie nodded an earnest nod. The annoying about her was her overwhelming sincerity. Lear couldn't help but believe her. "We haven't interacted outside of battles much. And Cheren has told me he really enjoys talking to you."

"He did?" Lear frowned, not wanting to keep repeating her words back to her like a Chatot. "Well, that's, that's very kind of him. I, uh," he searched for something to say that didn't amount to insults or too-revealing questions. "I was here simply to make sure all the holiday decorations are in order. I sent Sawyer and Rachel to do a check-over last night, but my father always says, If you want the job done well, do it yourself."

"I love the blue tinsel everywhere,” Bettie said with a happy sigh. She slipped down her fuzzy electric-blue earmuffs so they hung around her throat. They were not to his taste, similar to her hat, but Lear had to admit they suited her. "I almost never see it in that color.

“Of course it looks great.” Lear stood a little straighter. “I designed it myself, with a little feedback from Sawyer and Rachel. It was simple, really.”

Bettie didn’t even roll her eyes at him. “You all did a wonderful job. I might be a _little_ biased, blue's my favorite."

"I know," Lear said unthinkingly. Bettie raised her eyebrows. Lear flushed. "Well, it's quite obvious!" he defended, wishing Sawyer and Rachel were here, if only to provide a distraction.

“I'm surprised you took that into account,” Bettie said.

“Yes.” Lear cleared his throat and felt out of his depth. “I remembered.” He was used to meeting anything she said with aggression. Increasingly, however, he was realizing the uncomfortable fact that she was _nice_. And he didn’t quite know how to respond to that.

She smiled at him, which made Lear feel even more lost. "D'you wanna go check on my egg with me? It'll be hatching super soon."

"Hmph." Lear pretended to think about it. "I guess I don't have anything better to do.

"That's the spirit," Bettie said, and the two of them headed to the nursery area. Bettie held her Poryphone up to the door to unlock it, and the two of them stepped into the dark room. There was a flicker as the lights came on automatically, revealing rows of dozens of incubators.

"It's this one!" Bettie said, crouching next to a cream and brown egg that was wobbling a bit. "Oh, we're just in time!" She motioned impatiently to Lear, and he complied, crouching beside her.

Cracks were already beginning to web across the shell. Bettie punched in a code to open the incubator and lifted out the egg. "Here, Lear, you can hold it while it hatches. It's an amazing feeling!"

"I've never touched a pokemon egg before," Lear tried, but Bettie plopped it in his hands. It was warm and heavier than it looked. Lear stared down at it as it shook. He wondered if the pokemon inside was nervous. At least Lear wasn't alone.

"Don't worry," she said breathlessly. Lear looked up to find Bettie's face was closer than it had ever been, though she was still looking down at the egg. He swallowed before following her gaze. "You can do it."

Pieces of the shell chipped off, falling to the floor. Suddenly a snout poked through. Then round dark eyes, surrounded by black markings, were blinking up at him.

"A Sandile!" Bettie exclaimed. "I didn't know we had Sandile eggs on Pasio yet."

"I didn't either," Lear said, as he watched it stretch out its little cramped limbs. He got a lump in his throat. "Do you remember my Krookodile?"

Bettie was suddenly very tense next to him. "I do," she said quietly. "You never said what happened to it."

"I sent it away," Lear said. Sandile squirmed in his lap. He patted it awkwardly, and it curled around his warm hand with a small squeal. "I had Sawyer travel all the way back home to sell it, I don't even know to whom. I know now that I shouldn't have, but at the time, I just felt so—" He laughed, because he didn't know what else he could do. "You and Scottie made me _extremely_ angry, you know."

"It's true, you shouldn't have done it," Bettie said, in a disapproving tone. Lear's skin prickled with shame. Of course she wouldn't let him off easy. "But you already know what I think of that, and what's done is done. What matters is what you do now." She paused, thoughtful. "Would you like to keep Sandile?"

"What? But it's yours." Lear took a deep breath. "And...why should you trust me?"

Bettie grinned. "Hey, you're still not off the hook! I'm going to be bugging you _constantly_ for updates. Got it? You'll be seeing a lot of me in the future, so prepare yourself!"

Somehow, Lear couldn't be too upset about the prospect.


End file.
